Summary
It’s always a big occasion in the video game industry when a newResident Eviltitle is announced, especially when it’s a mainline game or a major remake. Considering how immensely popular the franchise has become over the years, it means Capcom always goesabove and beyond with its trailersto get people excited about what’s in store for the series.
Though there have been plenty of greatResident Eviltrailers over the years, there are a select few that have remained especially memorable thanks to how impactful they were when they first debuted. These trailers did an excellent job at giving players an idea of what direction the next game would be heading in, without giving too much away in the process,. Let’s break down what exactly makes theseannouncement trailersso special, and why people look back on them so fondly.
After the enormous critical and commercial success ofResident Evil 4, fans were excited for the next entry in the series long before it was even announced, but the initial teaser trailer forResident Evil 5managed to get people even more hyped for Chris' latest adventure. There’s a pretty dark and eerie atmosphere to the reveal trailer, as it shows Chris wandering through a gloomy African market before, suddenly, a group of frightening zombie-like enemies are seen stumbling towards him in the distance.
One noticeable aspect of the trailer, which can seem a little jarring now that the game has been out for years, isthe absence of Sheva. In truth,Resident Evil 5initially didn’t have any co-op, and was developed as a solo outing for Chris, so while the trailer doesn’t show off what is arguably the game’s best feature, the scary presentation and gorgeous graphics still made for a captivating cinematic overall.
TheResident Evil: Revelationsteaser trailer is admittedly quite short, clocking in at just over a minute long, but if anything, this worked in its favor. It added to the mysterious angle the game was going for. The first shot of the trailer focuses on the Queen Zenobia ship, which is where most of the game takes place, before then jumping toJill Valentine, who is forced to fend off multiple grotesque-looking monsters who had never been seen in the series before.
Sprinkled in between these segments are small tidbits of story that suggest another B.O.W outbreak has occurred, but how this connects to the ship, or even Jill as a character, is left unclear. The obscurity of theRevelationstrailer got people talking, and thankfully, the game itself managed to remain true to what is seen in the reveal when it comes to gameplay and visuals.
Resident Evil 6wasn’t exactly met with universal praise upon its release, primarily because of how bogged down the game is with its absurd amount of content. Before anyone knew anything about the game’s multiple campaigns and fast-paced action gameplay, all they had to go off of was a (frankly) epic reveal trailer, which featured a gigantic cast of characters, and gameplay that was presented as being more horror-focused.
The first half of the trailer focuses on Leon and his new ally, Helena, as they wander through a zombie-filled city, which is a clear homage to the Raccoon City Incident seen in the early games. At the halfway mark, though, the trailer switches focus to none other than Chris Redfield, a series veteran who, by that point, had never interacted with Leon on-screen before. The prospect of these two meeting up was enough to get people on board, but the dazzling environments, paired with brand new enemy types, includingthe Nemesis-like Ustanak, culminated in a trailer that some would argue is better than the game itself.
TheRevelations 2trailer is a small and concise cinematic that gets straight into the action, keeping viewers' eyes glued to the screen from beginning to end. It gets off to a good start, showing that the protagonist is Claire, a character who hadn’t played a leading role sinceCode Veronica. It’s not long before Capcom makes it crystal clear what direction they’re going with this game, as it transitions toa bleak and bloody prisonwhich is full of torture devices, puzzles, and of course, terrifying enemies lurking in the shadows.
It does need to be clarified:Revelations 2was announced at a time when the fanbase was starting to get sick of the action-packed gameplay of recent series entries. Therefore, this trailer put a big emphasis on a slower and more methodical pace of its survival horror gameplay, which certainly got people’s attention. The trailer also gave players their first glimpse at a brand-new character, Moira, who would go on to become a fan favorite thanks to her witty personality and charming relationship with Barry Burton.
A full remake ofResident Evil 4was bound to arrive after the positive reception to remakes ofResident Evil 2and3, so even though a lot of people were anticipating a trailer, no one was expecting it to end up being this good. The trailer essentially flicks through multiple areas of the game, including the village and the castle, while using clever camera work to only show brief landmarks and characters, keeping viewers in suspense and sparking their imaginations as to what they could look like on the newREengine.
One of the most memorable examples of this is when the camera focuses on the Red-9 handgun before Luis, whose face is off-screen, starts talking about how he and Leon have chosen a bad spot for a vacation. The trailer also hinted that this game was going to be a lot darker in tone than the original, especially with Ashley’s screams echoing through parts of the trailer, and the unnerving scene of Leon’s infection taking over his body. Capcom would eventually reveal more about the changes made to the game in later trailers, but this initial reveal assured players that this was going to be a faithful remake which would also dig deeper into its story and flesh out its characters.
This might sound a little ridiculous, but for the first few moments of theResident Evil 2 Remakereveal at E3 2018, a fair number of people assumed what they were looking at was going to be some sort ofnew rat platforming game. After all, the first few seconds follow a rat as it scurries through a cluttered shelf, but in the background, a police officer can be heard screaming for help, until eventually, rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy shows up to blow a zombie’s head off, which is certainly one way to kick off a trailer.
From there, fans are treated to some jaw-dropping shots of the R.P.D, not just from the outside, but also through the iconic hallways and offices. Not only did a newly remodeled Claire show up in this trailer, but players also got to see Sherry and Mr. X, who shows up near the end. It might not seem all that shocking nowadays, but the fact the game was in third person also caught a lot of fans off guard, since some were worried Capcom would only stick to FPS camera angles followingResident Evil 7. It’s an incredible trailer which many often tout as one of the greatest of the late-E3 era for how much of a surprise it was.
Resident Evil 7had a pretty bizarre rollout, to say the least. At first, it took the form ofa thrilling demosimply called “Kitchen”, which was presented as an entirely new IP. After yet another presentation of this mysterious horror game at E3 2016, the scene quickly changes to a compilation of weird and grotesque images which seemed more reminiscent ofSilent HillthanResident Evil,and was easy to compare toPT. It therefore came as a shock when, after the “Go Tell Aunt Rody” cover finishes, a VII symbol pops up on screen, and is soon accompanied by a title that gradually fades in -Resident Evil.
In that moment, fans immediately realized that everything they had been seeing was in fact aResident Evilgame, and one which looked drastically different fromResident Evil 6,which had released a few years before. Not only was it surprising to have an FPS camera angle for the first time in the franchise, but the isolated design of the environments and slower gameplay was proof Capcom had been listening to the fans' cries for a return to survival horror, and were determined to revive the series with this new entry. The fact that the trailer ends with a “Demo Available Now” prompt was the cherry on top of this memorable presentation.
